BCE Inc.’s media unit is partnering with Quebec entertainment icon Cirque de Soleil in a production pact to develop new content based on the world-renowned troupe’s acrobatic theatrics.

A new joint company formed by the two on Tuesday will create and manage high-quality programming to sell to viewers and broadcasters internationally as well as to subscribers of wireless, Internet and television services here at home, including BCE’s own.

And on the eve of high-profile hearings into its controversial takeover of Astral Media Inc., the Montreal-based media and telecom conglomerate is using the announcement to demonstrate good faith to regulators that an ever-expanding Bell Media will cultivate and broaden the reach of home-grown talent.

“We are very much committed as Bell Media and Bell to build on content, and our commitment is not wavering, it is building,” Martine Turcotte, BCE’s vice-chair for Quebec, said in an interview.

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Bell is contributing $15-million to the yet-to-be named company, and will be a minority owner. In exchange, it appears Bell will share in whatever sales are generated, while gaining distribution rights to the iconic circus’ catalogue of filmed performances. The same distribution agreement will apply to whatever new content is developed by the joint venture.

Montreal-based Cirque de Soleil, which generates $1-billion annually from ticket and merchandising sales, has been looking to grow revenue through the sale of new programming for the past couple of years.

It has moved into features films, including the December release of Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away, which is being distributed by Paramount Pictures under an existing agreement and was produced by Academy Award-winner and Canadian director James Cameron.

Yet, Jacques Méthé, executive producer and general manager, said a long-term partner had been sought to develop a slate of video and gaming content under the Cirque du Soleil brand.

“We thought, in order to do this, we would be better off with a strategic partner, people that not only have money, because that’s easy to find, but also a sense of strategy, clout, power and experience,” he said. “This is a small world, people start talking and word gets around. It got to Bell.”

Discussions began in the spring, around the time Bell bid $3.38-billion for Astral, the owner of popular specialty and pay channels like Teletoon and The Movie Network.

Cirque du Soleil has voiced its support for the deal in a submission to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which will review the transaction in public hearings set to begin Sept. 10 in Montreal.

The bid has sparked a wave of criticism from competitors and consumer watchdog groups, each expressing concern that Bell’s unprecedented pursuit of content assets poses a risk to the competitive balance across the domestic television sector.

Critics also claim Bell’s control of programming properties, which includes the country’s biggest broadcaster in CTV, a joint controlling stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. and Astral’s assets if the deal is approved, could impede competition in wireless and Internet services once viewers turn meaningfully to the platforms for content.

Bell’s Ms. Turcotte called an effort by Quebecor Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc. and Atlantic Canada cable provider EastLink to derail the deal a “campaign of misinformation.”

“You have to look at where it is coming from, our competitors. And if you’re a competitor, you don’t necessarily like competition coming,” the executive said. “But we are coming, and people know we will bring great quality content.”